Bangladesh court seeks amicus-curiae brief on appeal for Al Jazeera broadcast ban

The High Court has sought the opinions of legal experts to determine the acceptability of a writ petition to ban the broadcast of Qatar-based television channel Al Jazeera in Bangladesh and if it can issue an order for its suspension.

Supreme Court lawyers A J Mohammad Ali, Fida M Kamal, Abdul Matin Khasru, Prabir Niyogi, Kamal Ul Alam and Shahdeen Malik have been requested to submit their opinions as amicus curiae on Feb 15.

A virtual High Court bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah issued the order on Wednesday following a primary hearing of a writ petition.

Amicus curiae, which literally translates as a friend of the court, is a neutral lawyer or group appointed by the court to assist it in cases which require specific expertise.

The court has ordered the relevant authorities to deliver a copy of the order to the lawyers.

Lawyer M Anamul Kabir Emon represented the petitioners, while Khandaker Reza-e-Rakib was the legal counsel for Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission or BTRC. Deputy Attorney General Nawroz Russell Chowdhury appeared as the state counsel.

The next hearing on the issue has been scheduled for an 11 am start on Feb 15, the deputy attorney general told reporters.

On Monday, Barrister Anamul Kabir Emon filed the writ petition seeking an order to suspend the Al Jazeera broadcast in Bangladesh.

The petition also sought an order to remove the report titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ broadcast by Al Jazeera on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

On Feb 1, Al Jazeera broadcasted a report titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men.’ The report, which was published on Feb 1, has been dismissed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as ‘false and defamatory’.

“The Bangladesh Government rejects this desperate “smear campaign” instigated by extremists and their allies, working from London and elsewhere,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate also issued a response, saying the report was ‘vested’ and ‘ill-motivated’.

Senior Judge Mozibur Rahman Miah questioned why the video was not removed from the social networking site earlier, adding: “Now that millions of people at home and abroad have watched it, there’s no point in removing it.”

"Why couldn’t the BTRC take steps to address the issue in line with their authority?" the judge asked.

“It is not possible to stop the broadcast of Al Jazeera through a court order. But the court can issue an order banning the dissemination of the documentaries on the issue, just it did regarding the incident of a woman tortured in Noakhali,” BTRC lawyer Reza-e-Rakib said.

The regulator should have taken necessary steps but it remained inactive instead, said Deputy Attorney General Nawroz Russell Chowdhury.

The petitioner was asked to explain how he had been aggrieved by the documentary and whether a legal notice was issued to the relevant parties prior to the filing of the petition.

“The writ petition was filed to uphold national security,” petitioner M Anamul Kabir Emon said in reply.